Blizzard has pushed a new Hearthstone update ahead of The Witchwood’s release on Apr. 12. It includes the new expansion, the rotation of cards into Wild, some small fixes, and a new hero portrait.
The Witchwood is the first expansion of the Year of the Raven, and brings 135 new cards to the game, some with the new keywords Rush and Echo. A single-player mode called Monster Hunter comes along with the expansion, too, and it’s similar to the Kobolds & Catacombs single-player mode Dungeon Run. Monster Hunter will be made available two weeks after the release of The Witchwood.
The Witchwood’s release also signals the beginning of the Year of the Raven. With the launch of the new year, all expansions and cards released two years ago will be moved out of the Standard rotation and into Wild. These sets include Whispers of the Old Gods, One Night in Karazhan, and Mean Streets of Gadgetzan.
Three Basic cards will be moving into the Hall of Fame, meaning they will only be playable in Wild as well. Ice Block, Coldlight Oracle, and Molten Giant will be moving to Wild. Molten Giant will also see its’ card cost reverted back to 20 from 25.
Also coming with the update is the new Druid hero Lunara. You can earn Lunara by winning 10 games in Standard or Ranked play after the start of the new year. There will be three new card backs coming out as well. Raise the Roof is earned for Ranked play in the month of April, Monster Hunter for completing the new single-player mode with all four heroes, and Lunara’s Garden for winning five ranked games in May.
There are some small changes to the game itself as well. All Daily Quests that originally awarded 40 gold will now award 50 gold, and quests in general will be easier to complete. There are changes to Arena as well. Players will see less below-average cards and Humongous Razorleaf and Ancient Watcher will no longer be available in the mode.
The Enrage keyword will be leaving the game and cards featuring that keyword will have their card text changed to reflect the effect it gave. Finally, there is a new feature that allows you to share your decks with your friends during Friendly Challenges. This feature will not be available for Tavern Brawls or Fireside Brawl.
For a full list of the changes you can visit the Hearthstone blog.
